The book contributes to an awareness of the significance of loss in the life experience of persons with mental retardation. Experiencing loss may be a very powerful vulnerability in their mental or psychological life, and dealing with this loss is a basic element in psychological health. There has been an enormous hole in the death and dying literature and in the mental retardation literature on the mourning behavior and needs of persons with mental retardation. This book fills that hole, and lays a foundation for grief support services, establishes standards of practice and care, and is an educational primer about the loss and mourning needs of persons with mental retardation.

This guide for professionals to aid adults with mental retardation in dealing with grief provides information on the universal grief process, addresses grief issues specific to the mentally retarded adult population, and offers practical guidelines for interacting and providing support.

The Shame of Death presents a collection of unique and insightful essays sharing the common theme that shame is the central psychological and moral force in understanding death and mourning.

Helping Grieving People – When Tears Are Not Enough is a handbook for care providers who provide service, support and counseling to those grieving death, illness, and other losses. This book is also an excellent text for academic courses as well as for staff development training. The author addresses grief as it affects a variety of relationships and discusses different intervention and support strategies, always cognizant of individual and cultural differences in the expression and treatment of grief. Jeffreys has established a practical approach to preparing grief care providers through three basic tracks. The first track: Heart – calls for self-discovery, freeing oneself of accumulated loss in order to focus all attention on the griever. Second track: Head – emphasizes understanding the complex and dynamic phenomena of human grief. Third track: Hands – stresses the caregiver's actual intervention, and speaks to lay and professional levels of skill, as well as the various approaches for healing available. Accompanying these three motifs, the Handbook discusses the social and cultural contexts of grief as applied to various populations of grievers as well as the underlying psychological basis of human grief. Throughout the book, Jeffreys presents the role of the caregiver as an Exquisite Witness to the journey of grief and pain of bereaved family and friends, and also to the path taken by dying persons and their families. The second edition of Helping Grieving People remains true to the approach that has been so well received in the original volume. It includes updated research findings and addresses new information and developments in the field of loss, grief and bereavement.

Parents and other family members describe how they cope with the everyday problems of life with mentally handicapped children

Exploring contemporary theory and practice surrounding loss and bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), this book brings together international contributors with a range of academic, professional and personal experience. This authoritative edited book looks at diverse experiences of loss across this population whether it be loss due to transition, the loss or death of others, or facing their own impending death. The book begins by offering theoretical perspectives on loss and compassion, bereavement, disenfranchised grief, spirituality, and psychological support. It then addresses contemporary practice issues in health and social care contexts and explores loss for specific communities with ID including children, individuals with autism, those in forensic environments, and those at the end of life. Identifying inherent challenges that arise when supporting individuals with ID experiencing loss, and providing evidence and case studies to support best practice approaches, this book will be valuable reading for students, academics and professionals in the fields of disability, health and social care.

If ever there was an area requiring that the research-practice gap be bridged, surely it occurs where thanatologists engage with people dealing with human mortality and loss. The field of thanatology—the study of death and dying—is a complex, multidisciplinary area that encompases the range of human experiences, emotions, expectations, and realities. The Handbook of Thanatology is the most authoritative volume in the field, providing a single source of up-to-date scholarship, research, and practice implications. The handbook is the recommended resource for preparation for the prestigious certificate in thanatology (CT) and fellow in thanatology (FT) credentials, which are administered and granted by ADEC.